![\"How](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/How-did-U.S.-debt-get-so-big.webp\" "\\"How")
<\/a><\/p>\nPaul Krugman<\/small>:
\nHow did U.S. debt get so big?<\/a><\/h2>\nFederal debt is in the news. There were many headlines last week about the debt exceeding $40 trillion and now being bigger than the economy. There were also headlines about rising interest rates on long-term debt and the showy, ineffectual attempt of Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, to manipulate them down.<\/p>\n
Some of this is hype. Properly measured, debt is \u201conly\u201d $32 trillion. The comparison with GDP involves apples and oranges. And as I argued the other day, rising rates do not signal an imminent fiscal crisis.<\/p>\n
Yet the debt is indeed very large and some concern is warranted. … Republicans will deny that there is a debt problem as long as they hold the White House.<\/p>\n
But first we need to ask the question of how we got here. JD Vance says that it\u2019s Joe Biden\u2019s fault, because of course he does. Many others blame either reckless public spending or the fiscal burden of an aging population.<\/p>\n
The reality, however, is that U.S. debt would be much lower as a percentage of GDP, and would barely be in the news at all, without the revenue loss from tax cuts enacted by Republican presidents: George W. Bush in the 2000s, then Donald Trump during both of his terms.
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\n(Paul Krugman more…)<\/small><\/small><\/a><\/p>\n
\n\n![\"2026-08-21-2245-Carney1\"](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-21-2245-Carney1.jpg\" "\\"2026-08-21-2245-Carney1\\"")
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Stephen Marche<\/small>:
\nAmerica Came for Canada. We Said No.<\/a><\/h2>\nFriday, Aug. 21, may go down in history as Canada\u2019s Liberation Day. It was the day America came for us, and we said no.<\/p>\n
… Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the American proposal. \u201cLast-minute changes in the U.S.-proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal,\u201d Mr. Carney said in a statement. \u201cCanada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.\u201d
\n(Stephen Marche more…)<\/small><\/small><\/a><\/p>\nHeather Delaney Reese<\/small>:
\nYesterday, right as negotiations with our closest ally were collapsing, Donald Trump appeared to have no cares in the world as he posed for glamour shots for his new presidential headshots.<\/a><\/h2>\nDean Blundell<\/small>:
\nThe Annexation Papers. What Trump\/Lutnick Actually Demanded From Canada Behind Closed Doors, Why It Was Never A Trade Deal<\/a><\/h2>\n…
\nOne. They demanded control over who Canada trades with. …
\nTwo. They came for the French language. …
\nThree. They tried to rig the auto sector to strip our jobs. …
\nFour. They demanded we dismantle our own domestic policies, right down to the provincial level. …
\nFive. The resource grab was queued up for \u201cphase two.\u201d …
\nSix. The snapback. The remote-control tariff. Sign all of the above away permanently, and in exchange receive tariff relief that Trump can revoke any afternoon he wakes up feeling \u201caggrieved.\u201d …
\n(Dean Blundell more…)<\/small><\/small><\/a>
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\n![\"economic](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/economic-D-Day.jpg\" "\\"economic")
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![\"The](\"https:\/\/kewus.net\/yesterday\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Achan-landfill.jpg\" "\\"The")
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Farooq Zargar, Ilhak Tantray @ XYLOM<\/em><\/small>:
\nReporting on Kashmir\u2019s Disappearing Water Bodies<\/a><\/h2>\n…
\nThe biggest lesson came from the communities living around these water bodies. Losing a lake or wetland is not simply losing a piece of nature. It can affect livelihoods, water quality, health, and flood protection. The reporting made us realise that protecting Kashmir\u2019s water bodies is ultimately about protecting the people who depend on them.
\n(Farooq Zargar, Ilhak Tantray @ XYLOM<\/em> more…)<\/small><\/small><\/a><\/p>\n
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Allison Gill<\/small>:
\nFBI Admits it has Over an Hour of Epstein Redaction Training Videos<\/a><\/h2>\nDespite there being no exemption in the Epstein Files Transparency Act to withhold these training materials, the FBI refuses to hand them over, and they waited 8 months to tell us.<\/em>
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\n(Paul Krugman more…)<\/small><\/small><\/a><\/p>\n
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Stephen Marche<\/small>:
\nAmerica Came for Canada. We Said No.<\/a><\/h2>\nFriday, Aug. 21, may go down in history as Canada\u2019s Liberation Day. It was the day America came for us, and we said no.<\/p>\n
… Prime Minister Mark Carney rejected the American proposal. \u201cLast-minute changes in the U.S.-proposed terms were unfair, uneconomic and called into question the reliability of any deal,\u201d Mr. Carney said in a statement. \u201cCanada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar to protect our workers and businesses.\u201d
\n(Stephen Marche more…)<\/small><\/small><\/a><\/p>\nHeather Delaney Reese<\/small>:
\nYesterday, right as negotiations with our closest ally were collapsing, Donald Trump appeared to have no cares in the world as he posed for glamour shots for his new presidential headshots.<\/a><\/h2>\nDean Blundell<\/small>:
\nThe Annexation Papers. What Trump\/Lutnick Actually Demanded From Canada Behind Closed Doors, Why It Was Never A Trade Deal<\/a><\/h2>\n…
\nOne. They demanded control over who Canada trades with. …
\nTwo. They came for the French language. …
\nThree. They tried to rig the auto sector to strip our jobs. …
\nFour. They demanded we dismantle our own domestic policies, right down to the provincial level. …
\nFive. The resource grab was queued up for \u201cphase two.\u201d …
\nSix. The snapback. The remote-control tariff. Sign all of the above away permanently, and in exchange receive tariff relief that Trump can revoke any afternoon he wakes up feeling \u201caggrieved.\u201d …
\n(Dean Blundell more…)<\/small><\/small><\/a>
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Farooq Zargar, Ilhak Tantray @ XYLOM<\/em><\/small>:
\nReporting on Kashmir\u2019s Disappearing Water Bodies<\/a><\/h2>\n…
\nThe biggest lesson came from the communities living around these water bodies. Losing a lake or wetland is not simply losing a piece of nature. It can affect livelihoods, water quality, health, and flood protection. The reporting made us realise that protecting Kashmir\u2019s water bodies is ultimately about protecting the people who depend on them.
\n(Farooq Zargar, Ilhak Tantray @ XYLOM<\/em> more…)<\/small><\/small><\/a><\/p>\n
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Allison Gill<\/small>:
\nFBI Admits it has Over an Hour of Epstein Redaction Training Videos<\/a><\/h2>\nDespite there being no exemption in the Epstein Files Transparency Act to withhold these training materials, the FBI refuses to hand them over, and they waited 8 months to tell us.<\/em>
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